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Mental health: Strategies for students to handle anxiety

25 April 2022

Anxiety can be overwhelming. How can teachers and school staff support students who are struggling with feelings of anxiety? In this article, Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers a range of ideas and strategies

How can we support pupils who have Long Covid?

5 April 2022

How does Long Covid affect children and young people in the classroom and what can teaching staff do to help them? In the second of two articles on the impact of Long Covid on the young, Dr Sue Peters offers some practical advice

Exhausting, painful, lonely: The impact of Long Covid on children

29 March 2022

Tens of thousands of children are suffering with Long Covid. In the first of two articles to help schools support children with Long Covid, Dr Sue Peters considers the impact of this mysterious and often debilitating illness on pupils

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The growing problem of loneliness: How schools can respond

14 February 2022

The mental health crisis has been exacerbated by the pandemic, with schools reporting increasing feelings of loneliness in particular. Charlie Venter explains how his school is supporting pupils' wellbeing, including tackling loneliness

Bereavement, death and grief in the classroom

31 January 2022

It is important to speak about death in the classroom, but these conversations can be difficult to navigate. Annabelle Shaw from bereavement charity Project Eileen advises

One-to-one tutoring: Dos & don’ts

19 January 2022

Many schools are implementing small group or one-to-one tutoring programmes as part of their Covid recovery work. This article asks tutors at the Kemnal Academies Trust for their dos and don’ts of effective tutoring provision

Back down the time-tunnel: Forgetting the lessons of Covid

4 October 2021

As we emerge from the pandemic, are we at risk of hurtling back down the time-tunnel? Dr Carmel Kent asks what schools can do to ensure the lessons of the past 18 months are not lost...

Schools and vaccine liability: Debunking the anti-vaxxers' threats

28 September 2021

As the vaccination programme rolls out for 12 to 15-year-olds, headteachers continue to receive threatening letters alleging severe legal consequences for them and their schools. We asked legal expert Julia Green to debunk these threats and reassure SecEd readers

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Employment law and Covid-19: The key issues

23 August 2021

With a new term upon us, where do we stand in relation to our school staff, vaccinations, self-isolation and other key Covid-related issues? Employment law expert Jane Hallas offers her reflections

Rebuilding hope post-Covid: Understanding risk

20 June 2021

People who have hope generally have better developmental outcomes. In this four-part series, psychologist Dr Stephanie Thornton looks at building back hope as we emerge from the pandemic. Part three looks at how we can help young people to consider, handle and manage risk

Rebuilding hope post-Covid: Helping students to overcome despair

15 June 2021

People who have hope generally have better developmental outcomes. In this four-part series, psychologist Dr Stephanie Thornton looks at building back hope as we emerge from the pandemic. Part two considers how we might support those teenagers waylaid by despair

Rebuilding hope post-Covid: The signs of depression and despair

8 June 2021

What our young people need right now is hope. In this four-part series, psychologist Dr Stephanie Thornton looks at building back hope as we emerge from the pandemic. Part one considers the signs of despair we may see in some students – and how we can respond

Doorstep disadvantage: Beyond the Pupil Premium

24 May 2021

Do you understand the barriers to learning that poverty creates in your school’s community? Doctoral researcher and teacher, Sean Harris, reflects on some of the lessons he has learned as a school leader, researcher and as somebody who has experienced poverty himself

Covid lessons: The three Ms of effective remote learning

24 May 2021

We hope that national lockdowns are now behind us, but remote teaching and learning will continue for some pupils and groups in the months to come. Drawing on all we have learned, Matt Bromley offers his three principles of effective remote learning

How to ensure online parents’ evenings are effective

11 May 2021

One of the most popular innovations during Covid has been the move to online parents’ evenings, but principal Daniel Locke-Wheaton says they require careful handling if they are to prove an effective and permanent alternative

Remote learning: Five things we should keep post-Covid

11 May 2021

What are your ‘Covid keepers’ when it comes to online, remote and blended learning? What has proven so successful that it will now become a part of post-pandemic practice? Andy McHugh offers us five practices that he will be holding on to

Exam grading: What are the key challenges ahead?

3 May 2021

Several trends are emerging from the concerns that school leaders have about this summer’s exam grading process. Tom Middlehurst looks at the main sticking points and offers advice and reassurance for secondary school leaders and teachers

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SEND & Covid: Supporting students in the months to come

12 April 2021

The return to school last month may have been particularly challenging for our students with SEND. Garry Freeman reminds us of the basic principles of supporting students’ underlying needs – which will be more crucial than ever in the months to come

Rejecting catch-up: Recalibrating and responding beyond the pandemic

6 April 2021

How many pupils want to be told – repeatedly – that they are behind? It’s not about ‘catch-up’, but ‘recalibration’ says Sean Harris. He reports on what this looks like at Bede Academy in Northumberland and what our priorities should be, both this term and next academic year

Teacher assessments 2021: Ensuring equity for EAL learners

6 April 2021

The challenge of awarding grades for this summer’s examinations cannot be underestimated. It may be doubly difficult for students who use English as an additional language. Caroline Bruce explains

Remote teaching: Effective live lessons

5 April 2021

Schools may have re-opened more widely after the third lockdown, but remote teaching looks set to be with us for some time to come, including live online lessons. Dr Sharon Smith considers some differences between online and classroom teaching and offers a few tips

Blended learning: Creating an effective culture of virtual safeguarding

24 March 2021

Schools are fully re-open but with self-isolation requirements still in place, remote and blended learning is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Elizabeth Rose considers how we can ensure an effective culture of virtual safeguarding in this new blended world of education

Covid recovery: The importance of EAL assessment

23 March 2021

Setting accurate language targets and using tailored strategies will be crucial if we are to help the post-lockdown recovery of students who use English as an additional language. Caroline Bruce and Silvana Richardson explain and advise

Ventilation and hygiene: Advice and tips for secondary schools

16 March 2021

One year on and good ventilation, good hygiene and mask-wearing remain at the heart of keeping school sites and classrooms Covid-safe. It is worth reminding ourselves of the safest approaches. Dr Neil Bacon offers some advice and tips for secondary schools

Lessons learned: Providing pastoral care during a pandemic

15 March 2021

Providing pastoral care this past year has been a particular challenge for schools. One year on from the outbreak of Covid-19, head of year Dave Stephenson reflects on the challenges, successes and lessons learned during the pandemic

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